Protective cover for note pads or books



Nov. 27, 1962 v w. A. STEPHENS 3,065,978

PROTECTIVE COVER FOR NOTE PADS OR BOOKS Filed Feb. 9, 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 1 M'l/fam .4. Stephens INVENTOR.

Nov. 27, 1962 w. A. STEPHENS 3,065,973

PROTECTIVE COVER FOR NOTE PADS 0R BOOKS Filed Feb. 9, 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 2 l /2 Y mm A. Step/lens 1N VEN TOR.

BY /"6am United States Patent 3,065,978 PROTECTIVE COVER FOR NOTE PADS0R BOOKS William A. Stephens, Pikeville, Tenn. (4217 Taliluna Ave.,Knoxville 19, Tenn.) Filed Feb. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 88,187 4 Claims. (Cl.281--34) This invention relates to protective covers, and particu larlyto a protective cover for a notebook or pad which permits a person towrite on the pad without removing the protective cover therefrom ortouching the same.

Accordingly,'it is an object of this invention to provide a transparentflexible cover for notebooks, note pads, or other writing surfaceswherein the cover is of sufficient size to permit the note pad or bookto be opened and written upon without removing the cover.

It is another object of this invention to provide a protective cover forWriting surfaces or books which is of suflicient size to contain a glovefor a human hand which is secured to an opening in the cover and whereina person may insert his hand into the glove and write upon the pad orwriting material without touching the same.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a flexible coverfor note pads, bill pads, etc., which will cover the pad at all timesand yet permit someone to write upon the pad thereby protecting the padfrom dirt, grease, etc. This will improve the neatness and legibility ofthe Writing on the pad.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a protective coverof the above mentioned type which is easy and economical to manufacture,yet durable and reliable in use.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accom panying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom view of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the invention with a notebook thereinin the folded condition;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of my invention with an opened notebook therein;and

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially upon the plane ofline 55 of FIGURE 4.

Referring to the drawings, it can be seen that the protective cover forthe notebook 12 is composed of a flexible transparent material which isalso elastic to a certain degree. plastic which are transparent havebeen found to be satisfactory for the construction of my cover.

The notebook pad 12 is typical of the stationery which may be protectedby my invention. The pad 12 com- Polyethylene plastics and other formsof 5 3,065,978 Patented Nov. 27, 1962 ice The upper portion of the cover10 includes a rectangular top portion 34 and 35 which is the same sizeas the portion 24 and comprises an integral extension of the back wall30.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the walls 34 and 24 are joined on each side by atriangular portion 36 and a trapezoidal portion 38. The portions 38 and36 form the side walls of my cover and are joined together as oneintegral piece. When the cover is in the fully opened position as shownin FIGURE 5, the top wall 34 forms an angle of approximately 65 degreeswith the bottom wall 24. The upper and lower edges of the triangularportion 36 are rounded off as shown at 40 and 42. The curved edges 40and 42 and the straight edge 44 of the side walls 36 and 38 are joinedby a rectangular portion 46. The portion 46 comprises the front of thecover and also is integrally joined to the bottom wall 24 and the coverportion 34.

The front wall 46 also has formed adjacent its bottom edge an inwardlyprojecting rib 48 which acts as a retainer for the front edge of thebacking 16.

The central lower portion of the front cover 46 has an oval aperture 50formed therein. Sealed to the edge portions of this aperture is thewrist portion of a flexible transparent glove 52. The glove 52 hasflanges 54 bonded to the edges of the aperture 50. Aside from beingtransparent and non-porous, the glove 52 is conventional and comprisesfour fingers 56 and a thumb 58 all integrally joined together.

prises a stack of rectangular sheets of paper 14 covered 5 on the frontand back side thereof by a rigid backing 16 and a rigid cover 18 creasedat 20 for folding. The sheets 14, the backing 16 and the cover 18 aresecured together by bonding 22 which is conventional and may comprise acombination of cloth and glue.

The cover 10 comprises a rectangular bottom wall 24 divided into ,twosegments 26 and 28 and a vertically extending back wall 30 which is alsorectangular and divided along its vertical center line to rectangularcomponents. The two rectangular halves of the bottom 24 and the end wall30 are joined together by conventional zipper means 32. The zipper meansmay comprise a zipper handle shown at 32 and mating tongue and groovemeans 85 such as commonly used in plastic raincoats. The tongue andgroove means 85 is joined or separated by sliding the zipper handle 32therealong.

7 All of the abutting edges of the wall portions of the cover are bondedtogether to form an air-tight seal by conventional means such as heat orchemicals. Also, the edges may be crimped or thickened as shown at 60for increasing the stiffness of the edges of the cover and for improvingthe durability thereof.

In operation, the bottom 24 and the end wall 30 of the cover is openedby means of the zipper handle 32 and the pad 12 is inserted thereinalong with a conventional pencil or writing instrument 62 which isplaced on top of the pad. The zipper is then operated to completelyenclose the pad and pencil within the cover. For writing on the pad, itis only necessary for an operator to stick his hand through the apertureand into the glove 52 as shown in FIGURE 1. Due to the thinness andflexibility of the material comprising the cover, and due to itscomplete transparency, the operator needs merely to grasp the pencil 62in the conventional manner for writing upon the pad 12.

Since the paid is completely enclosed by the transparent non-porouscover 10, it is always protected from dirt, humidity, rain, grease, etc.Also, the operator cannot actually touch the pad paper with his hand,and he is prevented from smearing the writing on the paid.

The cover portions 35 and 34 of the cover may be composed of a thickerand more rigid material than the remainder of the cover, however, theportion 37 connecting the portions 35 and 34 must be quite flexible inorder to permit the portion 34 to be folded back as shown in FIGURE 4.

When not in use, the side walls 38 and 36 and the front wall 46 may befolded inwardly and under the pad cover 18 whereby the cover may befolded downwardly parallel to the back 16 as shown in FIGURE 3. Thispermits the entire cover and pad to be easily transported and carriedabout.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents 0may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A protective cover particularly adaptable for use with top openingpads or notebooks, comprising a flat rectangular bottom wall adapted toengage the bottom cover of a pad or notebook, a back wall extendingperpendicularly from one end of said bottom wall a sufiicient height soas to receive the rear edge of a pad or notebook, a means secured to theupper edge of the back wall and extending parallel to and coextensivewith the bottom wall for receiving the top cover of a pad or notebook,said means containing a flexible joint located on a line correspondingwith a joint about which the top cover of a pad or notebook is to pivot,a flexible, transparent front wall secured between said means and bottomwall at the forward edges thereof, said front wall being of sufficientheight so as to allow a top cover of an enclosed pad or notebook to beopened so as to provide writing access to the interior thereof, twoflexible side walls secured between the bottom, back, and front wallsand said means, said side walls being of sufiicient size so as to nothinderthe opening and closing of an enclosed pad or notebook, and anaperture in the front wall providing access to the interior of saidprotective cover.

2. The combination of claim 1 including an inwardly projecting rib onthe front wall near the bottom edge thereof adapted to act as a retainerfor the front edge of a bottom cover of an enclosed pad or notebook.

3. The combination of claim 2 including a zipper extending continuouslythrough both the bottom and rear walls so as to provide an opening forthe insertion of a pad or notebook.

4. The combination of claim 3 including a fingered glove-like memberextending into the protective cover and secured in sealing relation tothe periphery of the aperture in the front wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,786,740 Taylor et al Mar. 26, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 210,213 SwitzerlandSept. 2, 1940

